Utah Jazz Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Woj’s Latest: Pistons, Fournier, Lakers, Hawks

January 8th, 2018 at 12:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Shooting guards and small forwards are in high demand as the trade deadline approaches, and there simply aren’t that many quality wings expected to be available, Adrian Wojnarowski writes in his latest report for ESPN.com. As Wojnarowski details, the Pistons, Knicks, Pelicans, and Trail Blazers are just a few of the many teams looking for upgrades on the wing.

DeMarre Carroll (Nets), Alec Burks (Jazz), Kent Bazemore (Hawks), and Evan Fournier (Magic) are among the veterans attracting some interest on the trade market, according to Wojnarowski, who notes that the Pistons pursued a deal for Fournier. Such a trade would be hard to pull off without including Reggie Jackson‘s contract, so nothing’s imminent at this point, but the Pistons continue to be aggressive on the trade market, a reflection of Stan Van Gundy‘s desire to win now, says Wojnarowski.

As for the Pelicans, they also remain active in trade talks despite their limited assets, according to Wojnarowski, who notes that Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca have negative value and won’t be movable without New Orleans attaching a draft pick or two. If the Pelicans can’t trade for a wing, they’ll have to count on getting Solomon Hill back healthy for the home stretch of the season.

Here’s more from Woj:

The Lakers have “made it clear” that Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, and Larry Nance Jr. are available in trades, reports Wojnarowski. The club had been planning on waiting until after the season to try to move Clarkson, but there may be a mutual desire to get something done on that front sooner rather than later.
Bazemore, Ersan Ilyasova, and Marco Belinelli are expendable in Atlanta, where the Hawks are focused on unloading veterans and stockpiling more young players and draft picks, per Wojnarowski.
The Bulls still plan to trade Nikola Mirotic after January 15, assuming he OK’s a deal. According to Wojnarowski, Mirotic is somewhat intrigued by the Jazz and their head coach Quin Snyder, who has a reputation for maximizing offensive talent.
It’s possible their outlooks could change by the trade deadline, but the Thunder and Pelicans currently have no plans to trade Paul George or DeMarcus Cousins, respectively. Both players can become unrestricted free agents this July.
We passed along more rumors from Woj in full stories earlier today, providing the latest on DeAndre Jordan and examining the Grizzlies‘ asking price for Tyreke Evans.

Jazz To Guarantee Contract of Raul Neto

January 6th, 2018 at 12:56pm CST by clarkcrum

The Jazz are expected to guarantee the contract of Raul Neto, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The deadline for Neto’s non-guaranteed deal is tomorrow, January 7, but Utah reportedly has every intention to keep him on their roster, despite a recent injury to his left knee.

Neto, a 25-year-old Brazilian who made his professional debut as a teenager in 2008, signed a three-year deal with the Jazz in July, 2015. He started 53 games as a rookie during the 2015/16 season, but has seen his minutes drop over the last two seasons, this season at least in part due to the Jazz’ acquisition of Ricky Rubio.

Neto has averaged 4.9 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game over 138 career NBA games.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/2/2018

January 2nd, 2018 at 9:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Tuesday’s G League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:

9:33pm:

The Jazz have recalled Tony Bradley from the team’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, the team announced (via Twitter). Bradley, 19, has appeared in eight games with Utah, averaging 1.0 PPG.
The Grizzlies assigned forward Ivan Rabb to the team’s G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, per a press release. In four games for the Grizzlies this season, Rabb has averaged 1.5 PPG and 1.0 RPG. In 16 games for the Hustle, Rabb has posted 15.9 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 2.1 APG.
The Bucks assigned forward D.J. Wilson to their G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, according to a press release. This is the third G League assignment for Wilson, who has appeared in 11 games with Milwaukee and two games for the Herd.

3:21pm:

Former Celtics first-rounder Ante Zizic won’t be in attendance on Wednesday when the Cavaliers play the team that drafted him. The Cavs announced today that Zizic has been sent to the Canton Charge, adding that he’ll be available for tomorrow’s game against the Wisconsin Herd.

1:45pm:

A day after being assigned to the G League, Jabari Parker has been recalled by the Bucks, the team announced today (via Twitter). Parker, who continues to rehab his ACL injury and remains on track for a February return, practiced with the Wisconsin Herd on Monday.
The Rockets have re-assigned rookie big man Zhou Qi to the G League, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Zhou figures to suit up for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers when they host the Northern Arizona Suns on Tuesday night.
Rookie guard Derrick White is headed back to the G League, according to the Spurs, who announced today in a press release that they’ve re-assigned him to Austin. San Antonio’s affiliate is scheduled to visit the Long Island Nets on Tuesday night.

Northwest Notes: Westbrook, Huestis, Abrines, Jones, Jazz

December 30th, 2017 at 10:27am CST by marksuleymanov

In the middle of the Thunder’s resurgence and winning streak has been reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, Russell Westbrook. As Oklahoma City has tried to create a balance for Westbrook and two other All-Stars, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George, the team has struggled to find consistency. Playing behind Westbrook’s lead and not with him trying to lead is how the Thunder will find success, ESPN’s Royce Young writes.

After a slow start, OKC is in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 20-16 record. Anthony believes that Westbrook’s hot streak and the team’s improved play are no coincidence.

“I think the fact that Russ is just playing — not trying to defer to anybody, to any one of us — just playing his game and letting us play off him … I think he’s much more effective by doing that rather than deferring to myself or Paul,” Anthony said. “We know what we bring to the game. We understand it. We accept it. And by that, he’s able to just play his game, relax and do what he does best. We need that. We need that Russ out there. Not the one who defers to us. Let us figure it out.”

Check out other Northwest Division news below:

After the Thunder lost to the Bucks on Friday, head coach Billy Donovan said the team needs Alex Abrines to play better, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes. Abrines, 24, got the start on Friday but OKC was down 24 points after one quarter and he never returned. “My feeling is that Alex needs to help our team, and trying to find ways to get him going would be positive for our team,” Donovan said. “That’s why I kind of started him.”
Following Abrines’ removal, Josh Huestis got the chance to play the rest of the game and showed some defensive promise against the Bucks, Dawson writes in a separate story.
With Jeff Teague sidelined 2 to 4 weeks with a left knee sprain, Tyus Jones will take over the Wolves‘ starting point guard role for the second time this season and he feels prepared, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune writes. “Just because it’s not the first time now,” Jones said. “It’s something I’ve done, something we’ve gone through as a team. I’m just ready to go. My first-time experience, I learned it was still just basketball. You’re in the game to start rather than coming in a few minutes into the game, but it’s just basketball at the end of the day.”
The month of December has not been kind to the Jazz as the team searches for an identity, Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News writes.

Mitchell Didn't Plan On Staying In Draft

December 27th, 2017 at 9:10am CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz rookie guard Donovan Mitchell intended to return to Louisville for his junior season when tested the draft waters, Tim MacMahon of ESPN reports. Mitchell paid his expenses to the Creative Artists Agency pre-draft camp because he wanted to see what improvements he needed in his game before returning to college, MacMahon continues. Chris Paul and Paul George convinced Mitchell during the camp that he was good enough to be a first-round selection. The Jazz targeted him after an interview during the Chicago pre-draft camp and traded into the lottery to snag him, MacMahon adds.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone downplays the feeling that the franchise made a mistake dealing Mitchell, the No. 13 pick, to the Jazz, Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News tweets. “The only thing I can say is obviously we got (forward) Trey Lyles in that deal and Trey Lyles has been great for us,“ Malone told Woodyard. Mitchell doesn’t hold any grudges against Denver for trading him, Kyle Goon of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets.

Mitrou-Long Excited For NBA Chance With Two-Way Deal

December 24th, 2017 at 4:32pm CST by marksuleymanov

Naz Mitrou-Long finished up a game in the G League and after a long flight home learned the Jazz were signing him to a two-way deal. As he gets the chance to suit up for Utah in the NBA, Mitrou-Long is appreciative of the opportunity, Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News writes. “I obviously don’t presume to come in here and play a substantial amount of minutes or even play at all,” he said. “If I get any opportunity, it’s going to be to learn and take advantage of it.”

Jazz To Sign Naz Mitrou-Long To Two-Way Deal

December 22nd, 2017 at 4:53pm CST by Austin Kent

The Jazz plan to sign Naz Mitrou-Long to a two-way deal, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The combo guard out of Iowa State went undrafted over the summer but played briefly with Utah in training camp prior to being cut ahead of opening day.

After his October 14 release from the Jazz, the Canadian combo guard went to work for Utah’s G League affiliate, playing 20 games for the Salt Lake City Stars averaging 15.0 points and 3.7 assists per game.

Mitrou-Long will slide into the opening created earlier today when the Jazz waived two-way guard Nate Wolters.

Mitrou-Long was named to the All-Big 12 second-team during his final year of NCAA action and played with the Kings in the Las Vegas Summer League.

Jazz Release Nate Wolters

December 22nd, 2017 at 4:27pm CST by Austin Kent

The Jazz have released two-way signee Nate Wolters, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets. The 26-year-old guard only had only seen 3.8 minutes per game of action across five contests with the big league squad so far this season.

Wolters, who hadn’t played in the NBA since a 2014/15 campaign split between the Bucks and Pelicans, has started 13 games for Utah’s G League affiliate the Salt Lake City Stars.

The announcement comes a day after the Jazz let another player on a two-way contract go, waiving Eric Griffin to free up room in order to sign Erik McCree.

With Wolters out of the picture now as well, the Jazz will have one of their two allotted two-way slots free until they find somebody to sign. A player signed to such a deal today would have about 30 days of big league service time (down from the typical 45-day limit based on a full season).

Jazz Release Big Man Eric Griffin

December 21st, 2017 at 5:01pm CST by Austin Kent

The Jazz have released Eric Griffin, the team’s public relations department tweeted. The 27-year-old rookie was unloaded in order for the team to sign Erik McCree to a two-way contract.

Griffin has started 19 games with Utah’s G League affiliate so far this season, averaging 17.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for those Salt Lake City Stars.

Griffin was previously a training camp cut by the Heat, Mavs and Pistons in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Jazz Sign Erik McCree To Two-Way Deal

December 21st, 2017 at 4:43pm CST by Austin Kent

The Jazz have signed forward Erik McCree to a two-way contract, the team’s public relations department announced. McCree went undrafted out of Louisiana Tech last summer but played through training camp with the Heat.

In order to make room on the roster, the club had to release big man Eric Griffin, who had also been on a two-way deal with the franchise (their second two-way signee, who will remain under contract, is Nate Wolters).

Given that the contract is being inked partially through the season, McCree’s 45-day NBA service alotment will be pro-rated to around 30 days, as was the case with Sean Kilpatrick (who signed with the Bucks on December 16).

McCree profiles as a four with three-point shooting range and will look to pilfer some of Jonas Jerebko‘s minutes when up with the big league club. The rest of the time he’ll suit up for the team’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars.